Rick Perry is rapidly becoming known as a politician who talks a good game, but whose actions belie his words. Last year, he waved the bloody shirt of secession, which horrified the New York Times...until they dug deeper and found that Perry wasn't just talking about seceding. He was aiming to hook up with Mexico in order to fulfill his "shared with [Mexican President] Vincente Fox for open borders." Seriously, though, Perry is becoming a caricature of himself. He first waved the tenth Amendment on gay marriage and abortion, first supporting the interpretations that states should be responsible for defining marriage and related issues, and in a flip-flop worthy of Mitt Romney, came out in favor of a federal constitutional amendment to ban both.

Perry's open borders positions tell us that he is not a conservative. His political pan-gyrations on gay marriage, abortion, and the Tenth Amendment suggest he is not reliable there either, but would trim his sails at the slightest pressure.

Well, he must be good on something. How would he handle judicial appointments, for example. Bear in mind that in Texas, in contrast to states such as Alaska (where a Commission presents the Governor with three choices from which he or she MUST select a Judge), the Texas Governor has pretty much unfettered control of the appointments process to fill judicial vacancies. In a conservative state like Texas, it would be easy to remake the courts in a conservative mold. In fact, it would almost follow de facto, since the appointed justices must face election state wide. No doubt Perry will try to take credit for the relatively conservative state of the Texas judiciary as he has done with the Texas economy when the relative health of both has been more in spite of, than because of, Rick Perry.

I have not done an exhaustive study of Perry's judicial appointments, although undoubtedly conservatives in Texas would have done so. I found one particular judicial appointment, the subsequent election, and Perry's reaction to it to be most instructive about his orientation toward strong judicial conservatives.

In 2001, one of Perry's first selections to succeed the staunchly conservative Greg Abbot (who had been elected Attorney General) was Xavier Rodriguez, a self-described moderate. In trying to move the Texas Supreme Court to the left, he drew the ire of conservatives in Texas. An up and coming young conservative, Steven Wayne Smith stepped forward to challenge Rodriguez. Smith, who was superbly qualified, had argued and won the landmark 1996 case of Hopwood v. Texas which successfully challenged affirmative action at the University of Texas Law School. In effect, he was a hero to conservatives in Texas and an anathema to the Establishment. The Establishment, including Perry and John Cornyn, no doubt detested Smith for dismantling affirmative action at the UT Law School. But when Smith stepped forward to challenge a self proclaimed moderate appointment of Perry, who happened to be Hispanic, that was the last straw. Perry and his cronies in the Establishment did all they could to stop Smith but he prevailed over Rodriguez easily and was in stalled as a justice of the Texas Supreme Court.

In 2004, Perry encouraged a challenger to run against Smith. The Establishment lined up with Cornyn and Perry on one side and the Texas Eagle Forum,Kent Hance and Ward Connerly on the other. This time the Establishment prevailed and Smith was defeated. He attempted a comeback in 2006, but Perry recruited another challenger, less conservative than Smith, and he lost by less than 1%.

Perry's actions, and his vindictive crusade against an up and coming conservative legal superstar, suggest that a Perry Presidency would be more likely to yield David Souters and Harriet Miers than Antonin Scalias and Clarence Thomases. When it comes to Rick Perry, the message to the Federalist Society and constitutional conservatives is caveat emptor.

I called collect on the phone
You say you’re tired and alone
But it sounds like some one else is lying there
She said don’t call me no more
Don’t you knock on my door
It’s too late now and I know you’ll never change

And she said you’re just a coca cola cowboy
You got a Eastwood smile and Robert Redford hair
But you walked across my heart like it was Texas
And you taught me how to say I just don’t care

She said just leave me alone
And let me hang up this phone
Cause he’ll see me cry and think I still love you
Please don’t call me no more
I changed the locks on my door
It’s time you understood that we are through

And she said you’re just a coca cola cowboy
You got a Eastwood smile and Robert Redford hair
But you walked across my heart like it was Texas
And you taught me how to say I just don’t care

8
posted on 08/12/2011 10:07:27 AM PDT
by fishtank
(The denial of original sin is the root of liberalism.)

What’s wrong with someone doing research and writing an opinion piece based upon their findings? I know nothing about Perry so I appreciate having good & not so good information. No one is perfect and there won’t be a perfect candidate. If there are things you’d like people to know about Perry why not write your own article instead of denigrating someone else’s efforts?

You seem genuinely concerned that conservatives might mistakenly nominate the wrong candidate. Your unbiased analysis of Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann are welcome enlightenment for those of us uninformed voters dispossessed of your superior political insights.

I, for one, am truly grateful for your efforts to save us from the perils of our own misguided decisions.

But if not Perry or Bachmann...certainly not Romney...who does that leave? ...who should we vote for? Ron Paul?

No. Brices Crossroads is an unabashed Palinite and apparently the Palinites have decided that bashing Perry is now their new mission instead of defending Palin, this despite nothing in the Perry camp saying anything critical of Palin or, for her part, any criticism of Perry directly by Palin.

It's disappointing to me because I think it is quite possible that Palin could eventually endorse Perry for president as she did when he ran for governor. then, where will Palinites like Brices Crossroads be? Will they suddenly climb aboard and support the candidate their hero endorsed? Or will they become Bachmann supporters? Or Romney supporters?

33
posted on 08/12/2011 10:25:27 AM PDT
by OrangeHoof
(Obama: The Dr. Kevorkian of the American economy.)

No. Brices Crossroads is an unabashed Palinite and apparently the Palinites have decided that bashing Perry is now their new mission instead of defending Palin, this despite nothing in the Perry camp saying anything critical of Palin or, for her part, any criticism of Perry directly by Palin.

Seems dealing with the facts of Perry's history unhinges the Perry Boosters and Perry Apologists.

Sad; they just simply can't be honest and admit their guy has warts just like every other candidate, instead they go on extremely biased and dishonest rants about anyone that dares points out some of the obvious flaws in their candidates' history.

the Palinites have decided that bashing Perry is now their new mission instead of defending Palin

Nah, we can walk and chew gum at the same time. I think the real reason this is happeneing is because, well, this is just what happens when you run for president. People challenge your record. It's called vetting, its a good thing, and we needed to do a lot more of it than we did in 2008. Mea Culpa. Not gonna let it go this time. Perry's a big boy, and his followers can muster to his defense, and if it works it works. As for now, maybe I missed it, but I'm still waiting for the first pro-Perry post omn this thread to defend the actual charge laid in the article: Did Perry aid and abet the the leftification of the Texas Supreme Court, or did he not? What are the facts? Inquiring minds want to know....

Bilderberger folks (One World Government advocates) come in all stripes but they're still Bilderberger folks. Someone needs to ask Mr. Perry, a simple rancher and state governor, what it is that made him worthy of getting invited to one of their meetings.

SAN ANTONIO - In the 1850s, on the steps of the Waco courthouse, Wallace Jefferson’s great-great-great grandfather was sold. Today, Jefferson is chief justice of Texas’ Supreme Court. The governor who nominated him also nominated the state’s first Latina justice.

Rick Perry, 61, the longest-serving governor in Texas history and, in his 11th year, the nation’s senior governor, says these nominations are two of his proudest accomplishments.

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